R-Day full dress rehearsal leads to traffic snarls in Delhi

The full dress rehearsal of the Republic Day parade led to severe traffic snarls on the city's major arterial roads here Friday, an official said.

The rehearsal which began 9.50 a.m. from Vijay Chowk, passed through areas like Rajpath, India Gate, Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Netaji Subhash Marg, before ending at the Red Fort at 12.30 p.m.

"The full dress rehearsal has led to a major traffic blockage in areas like Connaught Place, Dhaula Kuan, ITO, Tilak Marg, and also Wazirabad in north Delhi," a traffic officer said.

He added that the traffic chaos started around 1 p.m. - soon after the rehearsal got over.

"It took me nearly 45 minutes to reach ITO from Tilak Marg. There was a major traffic jam in the area due to the full dress rehearsal," Kunal Singh, a commuter, said.

Through a traffic advisory issued Thursday, the Delhi Police had advised commuters to avoid the areas falling on the route of the full dress rehearsal between 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.